The board of trustees of the Hyams Foundation recently hired Jocelyn V. Sargent as its new executive director. Sargent will replace outgoing Executive Director Beth Smith on August 29.
“We’re extremely excited to have Jocelyn join the Foundation,” said Marti Wilson-Taylor, the chair of the board of trustees. “Her experience and knowledge base will be a vital asset as we move forward with our new strategic vision.”
A co-founder of the Center for Social Inclusion, Sargent has spent the bulk of her career devoted to social equity, leadership development and advocacy. Her training as a social scientist combined with her impressive experience in philanthropy management and research coalesce perfectly with the foundation’s strategic mission of impacting the racial landscape in Massachusetts and beyond. She brings a professional background in grant making, research and assessment, public policy and community development that has honed her skills as a philanthropist and social justice advocate. Her most notable work has been with the Open Society Institute in New York, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Michigan and the Hogg Foundation in Texas.
“I’m honored to be taking on this leadership role in the Foundation,” said Sargent. “In 2016, both locally and nationally, communities of color and low-income families are struggling tremendously to make ends meet and experience the rich economic and social prosperity this country has to offer. I’m ready to contribute to Hyams’ mission of breaking down the racialized barriers that keep so many from thriving and I look forward to embarking on this journey with the Foundation’s staff, trustees, grantees and the communities we serve.”
In the spring of 2015, after working collaboratively with staff, grantees, and funder colleagues, the Foundation’s trustees approved a new strategic vision that focuses on tackling issues of racial justice in Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts.
The Hyams Foundation is a private, independent foundation with a mission of increasing economic, racial and social justice and power within low-income communities in Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts.
